Trojans get swept away by Tides

PURDY — The Olympic Trojans suffered a huge loss on Thursday against the Gig Harbor Tides. It wasn’t so much the score or the game.

Rather, the Trojans lost one of their key players, Nick Bankus, in an injury that stings the squad more than the 56-0 loss to the Tides.

Gig Harbor, ranked No. 8 among Class 4A squads by the Tacoma News Tribune, was a heavy favorite in the game. The Tides showed why early and often, with Gig Harbor amassing a 28-0 lead in the first half.

Overall, the Tides racked up 534 yards of total offense, 462 on the ground.

“That’s another good football team,” Oly coach Eric Allen said. “That’s the third very good team we’ve played, the third playoff contender, this year. But we’re getting better.”

But the biggest loss was that of Bankus, who went down with a right knee injury after picking up 9 yards and a first down on an Olympic first-quarter drive. The exact injury is being determined.

Olympic athletic director Steve Lutz said the injury may have been to Bankus’ ACL, but Oly trainer Scott Peck stressed that further testing would have to take place before saying for sure. Bankus was helped off the field under the assistance of coaches, and left the game on crutches.

The Trojans (1-3, 1-1) were able to move the ball well in spurts against the Tides’ much larger defense, but turnovers again killed Olympic. The Trojans threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball four times, losing two.

Olympic also had good moments defensively, particularly in shutting down Gig Harbor powerhouse Gary Cole in the first half. Cole, a big, bruising power back, finished the game with 99 yards on 14 carries and two scores. But aside from a 13-yard score in the first half, Oly held him to just 42 first-half yards.

But stacking the inside against Cole gave the Tides an opportunity to exploit the outside, with running back Michael Murphy using his blazing wheels to rack up an astounding 236 yards on 18 carries, breaking the plane in the end zone four times.

Allen said while there were bright spots, the squad must start making plays.

“We did some things OK on defense,” he said. “We’re still not making the plays we need to. It’s been a long process just getting people to the right positions. So now we just need to make the plays. That’s going to be the longest part.”

Rashad Greene led Olympic in rushing, taking 13 carries for a respectable 42 yards against the Tides’ defense. Vic Chapman had a couple nice runs, getting 20 yards on three carries.

Olympic and Central Kitsap face off at 7 p.m. Friday in the Battle of Bucklin Hill.

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